Usage of mobile phones while driving is known to be a cause or a contributing factor in automobile crashes and fatalities. Numerous states and municipalities have enacted laws banning or restricting the use of mobile phones while driving. However, these laws are often ignored and driver mobile phone distraction continues to be a significant, and perhaps increasing, public safety concern.
As used herein, the term “mobile phone” includes any type of mobile device, communication device or other computing device usable by the driver of a vehicle, including but not limited to cellular phones, smart phones, tablets, laptop computers, electronic reading devices, multimedia equipment, and any comparable device that would or could be used by a driver while operating a vehicle.
As used herein, the term “vehicle” includes any type of vehicle or automobile that can be used to transport people or goods from one location to another location, including but not limited to cars, trucks, commercial trucks, recreational vehicles, buses, commercial heavy duty equipment (e.g., earth moving equipment), military vehicles, electric bicycles, motorcycles, ships, boats, jet skis, trains, trams, hot air balloons, helicopters, planes, and any comparable type of vehicle that presents a risk if the operator is distracted while operating the vehicle.
Employers whose employees' duties include driving have a strong interest in knowing that those employees are driving safely. This includes a desire to limit or prevent mobile phone use and to know whether the employees are in fact following all relevant regulations. Parents of young drivers have similar interests, wanting to know that their children are not using a mobile phone while driving and particularly are not texting. In addition, certain other individuals may be concerned about their own personal use of a mobile phone (or the mobile phone use of others) while operating a vehicle and want a device to help limit their use of the mobile phones while driving. Some groups, such as carpools, have interests in monitoring and knowing group members' level of mobile phone use while they are driving. Insurance carriers also have an interest in reducing or monitoring distracted driving as distracted driving is a contributor to many car crashes. Supporters of campaigns or pledges (such as a pledge at work not to engage in distracted driving) also have an interest in reducing distracted driving for those who have pledged not to engage in such activities. Groups of these types and others composed of employees, insured drivers, family members or friends, for example, could form to apply social or peer pressure to promote safe driving by limiting mobile phone usage while driving based on recorded data about mobile phone usage while driving.
There are existing technologies that have been proposed and developed to prevent drivers from using mobile phones while driving. These are in two general categories: (i) embedded electronic or mechanical devices installed in a vehicle, generally in the onboard diagnostics port, or (ii) mobile phone applications that sense motion of the mobile phone.
The devices of the first category, embedded electronic or mechanical devices installed in a vehicle, are typically installed into the onboard diagnostics port (generally, the OBD II for vehicles manufactured after 1996) of the vehicle and then wireless communications between the detector and the mobile phone disable use of either the mobile phone or the vehicle. There are several inherent disadvantages to these devices, as they are relatively expensive, often result in significant drain of the vehicle's battery or a battery installed in the device, often require complex or professional installation, and allow for the onboard diagnostic port to be solely used for the given technology (e.g., insurance carriers have onboard diagnostic port devices to measure driver's behavior, such as aggressive driving tendencies, and thus only one individual device can utilize the onboard diagnostic port). In particular, in certain configurations, such a device's use of the onboard diagnostic port while the vehicle is parked, especially if parked for an extended period, significantly drains the vehicle's battery as the electronic detectors are constantly utilizing the vehicle's sensors to determine the state of the vehicle. The devices of this first category are often used to detect the ongoing speed of the vehicle through constant monitoring, while the device described herein is monitoring to determine when the vehicle is turned on and when the vehicle is turned off, similar to a binary measure. A further disadvantage of the type of embedded device discussed above is that many individuals in the general public are not familiar with the onboard diagnostic port or how to use this port in a vehicle; consequently, there is a diminished likelihood that users will install and comply with these types of devices.
The OBD II is the vehicle's on-board computer(s) and port that are monitoring all the subsystems of a vehicle, providing real-time data and diagnostic trouble codes (this is the same port used by technicians to obtain diagnostic trouble codes when the “check engine” light is on). U.S. federal law mandates that every car manufactured after 1996 include an OBD II. The live data available from the OBD II can include numerous vehicle measurements and characteristics, such as vehicle speed (MPH), engine revolutions per minute (RPM), absolute throttle position, and accelerator pedal position. The OBD II relies on data from numerous sensors contained within the vehicle to monitor the vehicle. The OBD II allows compatible devices the ability to obtain this data from the vehicle when it is being driven or is parked, and this data can be extrapolated to determine various aspects of driving habits and behaviors. There can be significant battery drain from using data from the OBD II, as the OBD II monitors many systems in a vehicle.
Existing applications in the second category, mobile phone applications that sense motion of the phone, also suffer from several limitations. The sensing technologies rely on motion of the mobile phone to detect that the phone's user is driving; however, the mere fact that the mobile phone is moving at the rate of speed of a vehicle does not indicate that the user is driving. The user could, for example, be on public transportation or be a passenger in another driver's vehicle. In order to be effective, these mobile phone applications must disable certain mobile phone functionality any time the mobile phone is moving at a high rate of speed, but this obviously includes many situations in which the user is not driving.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of tracking and monitoring mobile phone usage while driving to prevent and deter such usage that is relatively inexpensive, does not require complex installation, does not significantly drain the vehicle's battery, is simple to use, uses a port currently available in the vehicle that the general public readily knows how to use, and provides transparency as to whether a user is actually using a mobile phone while driving. In contrast to the OBD II monitoring devices and mobile phone applications described, the present invention uses a vehicle accessory port, such as a typical 12-volt DC vehicle receptacle (receptacle generally associated with a cigarette lighter) or a USB input port, as the access point for a vehicle monitoring device, which has several inherent advantages. First, using the vehicle accessory port is a process that is well-known by drivers, as numerous typical electronic devices (such as USB chargers, phone chargers, and music players) utilize this port. Second, the vehicle accessory port is readily available and easily accessible in the vehicle, requiring only the simple installation process of the user placing the device in the vehicle accessory port. Third, the vehicle accessory port is a dedicated space within the vehicle, inherently designed to provide close and easy access to the user. Fourth, use of the vehicle accessory port will not jeopardize a vehicle's warranty. Fifth, the typical position of the vehicle accessory port allows the device to be placed in a space where signals, such as sound and light, generated by the device can be readily heard or seen by the driver. Sixth, use of a device in the vehicle accessory port results in significantly less battery drain than an OBD II device; thus, the device described herein will work in a vehicle that is not being driven daily (e.g., a vehicle that may sometimes be parked for several days) for a substantially longer period because of its significantly lower power demand than that of an OBD II device. The inventions described herein addresses the above needs, as well as providing additional features and applications, as will become readily apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.